Browsing All Posts published on »September, 2018«

Jon Ward of Yahoo News wrote (9/28/18) about the proposal of Senator Jeff Flake that was ultimately adopted to give the FBI one week to investigate charges aimed at the past conduct of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. This is what he quoted, in relevant part, about Senator Chris Coons’ impact on Senator Flake’s decision: “I frankly […]

The Program on Negotiation (PON) of Harvard University, published an article (September 20, 2018) entitled “The Pitfalls of Negotiating Over Email”. We probably know intuitively that Email is not a perfect communication vehicle. The post discusses some of its weaknesses. It is difficult to read a statement on paper, and determine if the writer is […]

The mantra often found in these pages is “Mediate Don’t Litigate”. But aren’t there times where a lawsuit is necessary and even a positive step. Undoubtedly this is true. But perhaps President Lincoln, a former trial lawyer, said it best “A good settlement is better than a good lawsuit.” And again, mediate don’t litigate.

In the September 25, 2018 New York Times, Frank Bruni wrote about “The Many Faces of Brett Kavanaugh”. Was he a gentleman as some say, or a drunken predator, as others charge? Mr. Bruni’s tentative answer is that might it not be possible that he was both, but at different times or in different situations? […]

A post appeared on mediate.com in August 2018 on sample Mediation Ground Rules. It was written by James Melamed, and it contained 12 rules to ensure an orderly and successful mediation process. I will “cherry pick” 4 of the Melamed “rules” and add a fifth of my own. These rules are basic, civil, and quite […]